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Participants,
many of them U.S. war veterans astride the loud, muscular
Harley-Davidson machines typical of such events, rode into
Washington led by a police escort over the Memorial Bridge,
where cheering spectators waved Americans flags in support.
"The greatest thing a person can ever do for a veteran is say:
'Thank you,' and this is just one giant thank you," said Jason
White, who fought in the 1990-1991 Gulf War.
The Rolling Thunder "Ride for Freedom" began in 1987 as a
protest demanding a full accounting for American troops listed
as missing in action, some who were believed at the time to
still be held as prisoners following the Vietnam War.
The annual Memorial Day event has evolved to encompass efforts
to honor and raise awareness about the fate of all U.S. service
members who were lost or otherwise "abandoned" following any of
America's military conflicts.
According to U.S. Defense Department figures, nearly 83,000
American military personnel remain unaccounted for, the
overwhelming majority, 73,000-plus, from World War Two. The
tally also includes more than 7,700 from the Korean War and over
1,600 from the Vietnam War.
(Reporting by Jillian Kitchener and Pavithra George in
Washington; Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Peter Cooney)
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